Pantone, the standardized color reproduction system widely used in design and production, has announced the expansion of its SkinTone Guide. The updated 2023 edition includes 28 new shades in addition to the existing 110 to better represent the vast array of human skin tones. Pantone specifically focused on adding darker tones and yellow undertones to address customer feedback and demand for more accurate color matches in those ranges.
To pinpoint which shades to add, Pantone's color scientists captured skin tone samples from volunteers around the world. They used a handheld spectrophotometer, a color-measuring instrument, to sample skin on different body parts. That measurement data was then 'spectrally matched' using paint on paper to produce accurate color swatches for the SkinTone Guide.
